Career
His early career began in 1913 at the company Maranda et Labrecque, becoming a director there from 1925 to 1941. From 1940 to 1942, he was a church warden for the Sacré-Coeur-de-Jésus Roman Catholic congregation. Hamel was re-elected at Saint-Sauveur in 1944, but was defeated in the 1948 and 1952 elections.
Hamel was Mayor of Quebec City for twelve years, beginning in December 1953.